Lecture given by Beinsa Douno
August 19, 1921 *
Veliko Tarnovo
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Please, be so kind to listen to me; I am not going to speak long. Wise persons do not need long speeches, what they need is a short, but sensible and comprehensible talk. With all my compliments and respect to you I would like to speak to you concisely and clearly, the way I would speak to intelligent people.
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Life on Earth is music. It flows in three directions. Let me express this in musical terms – sometimes life follows a major scale, as in the case when military men express themselves; at other times it follows a minor scale – the way sorrow is expressed; and finally it follows a chromatic scale, which includes the first two scales. These are three great methods, three great laws that regulate our lives. When we do not understand the deep inner meaning of Life, we focus on nonessential matters and we ask ourselves why Life is organized the way it is and not differently.

Be aware that I maintain the positive view of experiential science in Life, which we have verified ninety nine times, and as a result we do not have even one hundred millionth of a doubt about what we say. Doubt is an indication of ignorance in the world. I do not imply that ignorance is bad; but it represents a process of development. For example, all infants are born ignorant and their consciousness should be gradually awakened and developed further on.
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Hence, human consciousness, if I am to express myself in strict scientific language, passes through three stages: essential, substantial and material stage. The essential stage includes the principles of Life; the substantial stage includes the laws of Life and the material stage – the facts of Life. Therefore, grouped facts in the world, i.e. aggregated personal little experiences, form a law and we say that this law is expressed one way or another. Currently, contemporary scientists refer to the law as something mechanical, but it is a living essence. A law can exist only in beings who are elevated, whose consciousness has passed through the material stage – from the facts to the laws, from the individual to the general and from the general to the whole.
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We ask ourselves about the most important thing for us once we are here on Earth. In the present circumstances people think that life on Earth is most important when they are well off materially; so all nations individually and collectively are striving for their material security and wellbeing. That is why today we have the so-called economic struggle. The current aspiration of nations towards the material is a trend. Hence, human consciousness advances from the material to the substantial stage or in other words the collective consciousness in man is in a process of awakening. Until now, similar to the animal world, humanity has been living in collective sub-consciousness and from now on entire humanity is advancing to collective consciousness, in other words people are beginning to realize that they need one another. Until now everyone has being living for himself alone, everyone has been seeking his personal salvation. But at present humanity as a whole is moved by an inner impulse towards the improvement of the common status, not only of one, but of all social classes and, moreover, it is happening wisely; not as we currently think that we will be able to improve our individual lives ourselves.Thousands and thousands of years ago humanity itself ruined its own wellbeing. There are reasons for that, but I am not going to elaborate on them. Once upon a time the Earth was like Paradise: the vegetation was so diverse that there were thousands and millions of fruits and as a result people lived only on fruits. However, due to certain physical reasons, the ice age befell the Earth. Consequently, its fertility decreased and people began to use meat, to kill and eat not only animals but also one another. That is why the following saying still exists among people, "I will suck out your blood". Well, I ask you: if one sucks out someone else's blood, what will they gain? If one kills someone else, what will he gain? This is a misconception of Life. Not only people as a whole do not get along, but religious and spiritual people have also lost the correct understanding of
Life, though they are in the forefront, considering that they have a connection and communion with God and considering that they have the right to lead. I am telling you the Truth. It is not that others do not want to tell you the Truth or that they hide it intentionally, but it is just natural for them. If a thorn gets stuck in someone's foot, this person becomes nervous. Take the thorn out and he will calm down. Therefore, if people of today are bad, it is because each one has a thorn in their flesh bothering them all the time. Apostle Paul said that he had a thorn that constantly bothered him. I have never met a person without a thorn. While the thorn is lodged in us, we cannot be clear-sighted and think properly. Our philosophy is distorted because of the thorn. Take the thorn out and you will have a sound philosophy of Life.
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An English merchant asked a preacher to explain to him what was taught in the Bible. The preacher spoke of this and that. The merchant then said, "No, no, tell me concretely and in a few words what this teaching is about." He wanted to grasp the essence, to see the kernel outside its shell. Finally the preacher advised him, "Buy yourself the Bible: you can learn lots of things from it." The merchant bought the Bible and read a lot from it, but since then his business began to deteriorate and he suffered big losses. "Ever since I bought this book only misfortunes have come upon me", he said to himself angrily. Eventually he threw the book in the fire. While the Bible was burning, a small shred of a page fell to the side. He took it and read: "God is Love."
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At present contemporary Christians keep asking, what is Christianity, what type of religion is it? They go around saying, that Christianity is this and that. No, no, God is Love which has to unite all people in order for them to live in Love, Peace and Brotherhood[1] , regardless whether they are kings, rulers or of any other social position; these are secondary matters. All people should live according to Love as brothers and sisters, respecting one another. They have to share everything willingly: not by force, but voluntarily and consciously.
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Once we touch upon this subject, other questions arise: is there an afterlife or not, which religion is the most truthful and so on. I say, there is only one Teaching in the world that can improve our homes and this is the Teaching of wise Love, not contemporary class love. Principal Love – this is Love containing self-sacrifice, love of the mothers, brothers, friends, saints, love of the most enlightened persons in the world. Once this Love comes to dwell in us, our eyes will be opened.